On May 12, the NBA held its lottery to determine who would win the Cooper Flagg sweepstakes (and the subsequent 13 picks for the 2025 NBA Draft), which will take place on June 25. The highly coveted prospect has shown that he is league ready from day one and will be a sure-fire help to whoever picks him up.
To find out which teams draft in which order, 14 ping pong balls are placed in a lottery machine, and depending on what number falls out first, that team with the corresponding number will get the allotted pick. This system of selection only applies to the first four picks. After that, the draft order is based off of the team’s record from the regular season.
This year, the Dallas Mavericks scored the first pick in the draft, despite having only a 1.8% chance of winning the pick. The San Antonio Spurs, with a 6% chance at getting the first pick, scored the second pick in the draft; the Philadelphia 76ers received the third pick; and the Charlotte Hornets, the team with the worst overall record of the top bunch, secured the fourth pick.
The Dallas Mavericks are coming off of one of the most controversial seasons in NBA history after trading away Luka Doncic and the perceived long-term success of their franchise to the Los Angeles Lakers. The team was in need of young talent to help restore the success that they found in last year’s postseason.
The Mavericks, and all other teams, have their eyes on the top prospect for the draft, Cooper Flagg, who as a freshman at Duke University, declared for the draft in April. Flagg also skipped his senior year of high school to pursue his dream of playing basketball in college. Flagg is only 18 years old, making him one of the youngest players to declare for the draft. Though there have been some discussions about trading out of the top pick for stars like Giannis Antetokounmpo, it is almost guaranteed that the Dallas Mavericks will select Flagg in late June.
Some of the other top players for the upcoming draft are Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey, a guard and a forward from Rutgers University, Jeremiah Fears, a guard from the University of Oklahoma, and Tre Johnson, a guard from the University of Texas.
This year’s NBA draft will be held in Brooklyn at the Barclays Center. It will be televised on ABC and ESPN at 8:00 p.m. EST. Tune in to see the new additions to your favorite team!
